"In this country certain parts of the media have written things, sometimes true, mostly untrue, about me that have portrayed me in a certain way," he told ShortList. "People assume I'll be like that. You have to separate it and say, 'Well, I know it's not me'."

Law continued: "You learn to live with this dichotomy of who you are and who they're saying you are. But that period was horrible. It was just boring. Boring, shallow and infuriating, because I couldn't get my revenge."

Law also complained that his fame had overshadowed his acting "for a little while", saying: "I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the swamp, the mire. To me it's the shallowest form of judgement and analysis. I'm not interested in gutter-sniping; there's too much good stuff going on.

"I was hoping to contribute to the good stuff and I felt as though I was suddenly pulled into this level of nonsense. I realized quickly I'd have to keep my head down and hope that the work would win out. It seems to have so far."

Law even suggested that his experience of the media has deterred him from getting involved with good causes.

"You can argue that, behind the scenes, there's a responsibility to shine a light on areas that you really believe in, but I think you have to be careful because the media is a multi-headed monster," he said.

"You can think you're doing something really positive and be accused of abusing your celebrity, and I think that happened to me. So I see no obligation [to help]."

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Matt Smith pulls his signature pose as he and Jenna-Louise Coleman attend a press screening of the brand new Doctor Who episode, 'The Bells of Saint John', which is set to be aired on Easter Sunday.
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